SURPRISE! Lexus LFA Roadster makes appearance at drift event

A surprise appearance at the Tokyo Auto Salon today has been made by a vehicle that appears to be the Lexus LFA Roadster, despite reports about its demise.

Despite reports that it was gone, the surprise vehicle of the Lexus LFA Roadster made an appearance today at the Tokyo Auto Salon.

An previous report by Car said that Toyota had decided to stop developing the LFA Roadster because of turbulent market conditions and instead focused its energies on a new sport car program, which was speculated to be a revival.

The LFA performed a few short drifts in front of the Chiba Makuhari Messe convention centre before taking a break.

SURPRISE! Lexus LFA Roadster makes appearance at drift event

Although the excitement of the MC can almost drown out the V10 engine’s amazing sound, we still hear enough to be sure that this vehicle is a real LFA. We aren’t sure if this is an official Lexus prototype, or a custom-made job.

The roll bar, which extends the vehicle’s width, is cumbersome and ugly, but it’s there for good or bad. This makes it appear that this is a custom-made job.

Toyota would prefer a simpler setup with tensioned rolling bars that can suddenly rise in the event of a rollover. This LFA was not designed for a convertible. The owner decided to sacrifice looks and use a solid rollbar to give the structure lateral stability without a roof.